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4 Thoughts on “Share Your DIY Car Fails”
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My daily commuter Prius had racked up nearly 280,000 miles before I needed to replace the drive axles. The job was pretty straightforward, albeit cumbersome, laying on my back in the driveway. Hours later and several busted knuckles, a quick test drive verified all ok, then a pat on the back for a job well done. Forward to next morning, and I’m staring at a pink river flowing down the driveway! Back under the car and all still looked good. So I thought, maybe put glasses on. I always wear safety glasses when I work but was in denial about needing prescription ones for detail work. Well, if not for my stubbornness, I would have noticed the metal spring missing from one of the rubber boots meant to keep a tight seal on the axle, preventing a leak! Again, hours later, but this time, dry.
I would also like to add another experience as a warning. Be mindful of parking near a beach or areas where seagulls congregate. I parked my black 67 GTO in Port Jeff NY one afternoon and came back to find several direct poops on my hood! I freaked! Guess they didn’t like Pontiacs. At the time I had young kids so I asked my wife for a baby wipe to clean it before it ruined the paint baking in the sun. Worst mistake! I wiped, rubbed and scrubbed until clean. But when it dried, it left behind 3 large scratched circles. Several minutes of angry bewilderment and I finally realized…seagulls eat clams, clams filter sand, seagulls poop sand! Don’t ever wipe gull poop, blast it off with a hose first!
Hi Ron! Thumbs up for your DIY drive axle job, not an easy task! Your GTO story made me cringe, such a sad story, but a great PSA! -MM
When I first tried to tune-up (points, distributor wires, timing) my 1971 Gold Cutlass, I did not securely put back distributor cap securely enough so the cap and the wires came out while I was driving to work. Of course the car died and I had to call AAA. The auto mechanic wanted to know where I had my car tuned and I said a local service station. Also, there was a friend of mine with me who was a local newspaper reporter. The next day there was a newspaper article titled “Legend of the Gold Bug.” No names to protect the innocent, but my friend and I were the only ones who knew.
2nd story, same car. First oil job, the auto store gave me the wrong size oil filter so when I started my car after changing the oil, I had 5 quarts of oil on my driveway,
Hi Don! Thank you for sharing your stories with us! Can anyone else top that? -MM